Doctor Doctor
by MeiDarkreign
Summary: The young Dr. Briefs is interested only in his research and robots...until he is sealed away by a storm with a lovely young graduate student. Their short interlude is not so easily forgotten, and he must woo her before he loses her forever.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello there. I have found myself interested in this pairing mainly because few people want to touch it, let alone anyone in the M section. (This will be a first, so I hope I don't screw it up.) Dr. Briefs and Mrs. Briefs always seem to have a happy, perfect relationship, but I have always been interested in how exactly they came to find one another. What has been a bit of a challenge for this first chapter is basically coming up with their personalities: We have had a basis in the series, but only after they have experienced success and life. That being said, this is my version of a possible Dr. Briefs and Mrs. Brief get-together.

Some notes: Mrs. Briefs never has a given name, but in an interview with Akira Toriyama he said if he had to give her a name it would be "Pansy," so that is the name I have given her. Dr. Briefs first name will never be mentioned in order to maintain some essence of the canon story. This story will eventually live up to its "M" rating, so please be forewarned. Any time mature content is present, however, there will also be a warning at the beginning of the chapter.

Well, I do hope you enjoy. I would love feedback, since I have no idea if I am starting off in a good direction or if changes need to be made. Thank you.

* * *

Everyone thought he was the cutest thing. With his periwinkle hair and light blue eyes, he was the most adorable being for miles. Until he grew up. At the age of twenty-two, with several degrees and a doctorate under his belt, he was now considered less attractive than dirt. He wore glasses and a lab-coat, and did not often come away from his work unless he needed to eat or sleep. Most of his colleagues believed he was a mad scientist, always puttering about the lab, trying to create robots or some such silly nonsense. He had just started getting used to the idea of being alone with his contraptions when the university gave him an ultimatum: supervise a graduate school class or leave the school. Since he still needed the government grants for his research, and the school provided the labs and equipment, he had no choice. But why this course?

He had taken a few history courses, had a smidgen of field study, and now he was supervising the graduate archeological research team…Damn university just pretended to threaten to revoke his status so they could fill an unwanted position. The former supervisor had retired and no one else was willing to oversee a two-month archaeological excavation in the desert. It was not as though he was not interested in the research, but it would mean putting the majority of his own research on hold. Not to mention, he would have to interact with the graduate students, the majority of whom were older than he. He supposed it was partially his own fault for getting into this situation. It was almost his station in life to be a professional doormat. If he were any less aggressive, he would be a sponge. "Going with the flow" was sort of his style anyway, though it did give him grief now and then.

Especially now, when the temperature was well above forty degrees Celsius. He fanned himself with a manila folder, glad he had a tent to shade him. The students appeared to not be phased by the ridiculous amount of heat: they just slapped on the sunscreen and went to work. He was attempting to construct a few small "helper" robots, small enough to fit into a pocket but strong enough to carry groceries. Though, he almost considered salvaging parts in order to create a portable air conditioning unit, but decided against it. His designs had already won him a few awards, and a few models were being bid on by various companies. Most likely he would decline any offers, but it was nice to know his work was appreciated. If his robots became commercial, he wanted it to be by his hand. Too many robots nowadays were shoddily crafted by other robots, and that was a poor way to run a business.

"Dr. Briefs?" The voice brought him from his thoughts. Before him was a dirtied young man, hand shovel in pocket and water bottle in hand. He was the student supervisor: older than he was but very considerate about the title difference.

"Yes?" He tried to sound as focused as possible, though that was difficult when most of his energy was sapped from the damned heat.

"One of the students would like to go to the secondary site to start surveying the area for possible excavation. She said it might take a day or two. Problem is, my main research revolves around this area and I won't get another crack at the site for another year once our time here is up. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind supervising her while she does her surveying. I can handle everyone else here, promise." Ah, time to be stepped upon once again. In this particular instance, however, he felt it might be best to give in. The student supervisor had been very helpful, had basically done his job for him, so he might as well return the favor.

"Alright. I'll supervise her while she surveys. By the way, which student is she?"

"Pansy Soto." Oh no.

***

If there were one student he would rather never have contact with, it was Pansy Soto. She was blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and all kinds of ditzy. Well, at least that's how she acted a lot of the time. She was a year his junior and had received her Zoology Bachelor's with top marks. From what he understood, archaeology was more of a diversion than anything else. She did not seem to know what she would do with her life, and was completely content with staying in school until she figured it out. That did not mean, however, that she would slack in any of her courses. Which meant he was stuck with the camping equipment strapped to the transport sled, trudging along in sand that sank up to his ankles with every step. And she was not even breaking a sweat.

They had been walking for about two hours and still had yet to reach the site. That was when the wind started to pick up. At first it was tolerable, welcomed even, but it soon began to fling dirt into their eyes.

"Um, I hate to tell you this, doctor, but I think there may be a sandstorm coming in," Pansy said casually. "Actually, I think it's here now." He sighed and turned into the wind. Sure enough, a large wall of sand was steadily creeping toward them. How was she so calm?

"We need shelter! Where is shelter?" He began having a moderate panic attack and barely noticed when he and the sled were being led towards a rocky cliff face. The next thing he knew, he and all their equipment was scattered about the floor of a small cave. His body was so tense he could not move. But he didn't have to. Pansy went to work pulling out a tarp from the equipment and using some sort of sealant to secure it to the rock, providing a shield from the sand and wind. The bottom few inches were left unsealed, but she placed the sled on top of it to keep it from flapping about.

"You're safe now, you can move." That shocked him out of his attack and forced him to inhale deeply. Excitement was not befitting a man such as him.

"Er, thank you. Sorry about that. I am not used to the elements. Mostly, I just work in a lab. So, how long do you think the storm will last?" he asked apprehensively.

"I don't know. It was not on our radar this morning, so it could be a few minutes, or it could be a few days. There is no way of knowing what a freak storm will do. But, we have enough food and water for three days, and by that point the others will have started looking for us. So, I don't think we're going to die, just might be a bit cramped for awhile." He had not noticed it before, but she had the oddest accent. Everything she was saying made sense, but her accent made it all sound so ditzy. He found himself staring a little. Though, there were certainly other reasons to stare.

She wore short jean shorts, the bottoms of which barely covered her buttocks, as well as a tight white tank-top and a loose plaid shirt. He never considered himself to be any sort of pervert, but with breasts as on-display as those were he had little choice but to admire them. Fortunately, she seemed not to notice. She was busy setting up the rest of the equipment to make the cave as comfortable as was possible.

"Hey, what are these?" She turned to him and held out his incomplete "helper" robots.

"Ah, don't touch those!" He quickly grabbed them away, checking them over for any possible damage. "You could have destroyed months of hard work. Give me that case." He pointed to the case she had unceremoniously dumped on the ground and then removed the robots from. It would be a miracle if none of them had sand lodged in their circuit boards. Surprisingly, Pansy made no comment about the situation. It appeared she took everything in and decided nothing was worth her time. Either that, or she had not paid attention. That was one of main reasons he detested working with her: once she was focused on her own thing, she paid no mind to anything else around her and often caused unintentional problems.

Once he had the case in hand, he moved to the far side of the small cave and pulled out the delicate robotics tools. The circuitry appeared undamaged, though he would have to wait until the robotic frame was finished before being entirely sure. Well, no time like the present to get working on the frames. He grabbed a lantern from the pile of equipment and got to work.

***

It had to have been a few hours before he poked his head up from his work. At that point his stomach made a loud growl in response to the scent of food. Looking over he saw Pansy making up some of the prepackaged meals on the portable stove. The freeze-dried meals tasted akin to cardboard, but at this point he would eat anything.

"You ready to eat?" Pansy asked innocently, a naïve smile upon her face. He nodded and placed down his work very carefully before moving next to the stove. She poured what appeared to be stew into a bowl and handed it to him. He wolfed it down and held the bowl out for seconds. "My, aren't you hungry, Doctor? Oh dear! Look at your hands! They're covered in blood!" He looked down and, sure enough, his hands _were_ covered in blood.

He raised his shoulders and took the ladle from her, serving himself seconds. "It happens. The robotic frames for my robots have to be custom cut, and with so many small parts cut happen all the time. I'll be fine." Before he could place a spoonful of stew in his mouth the bowl was taken from him.

"No, you're hurt! We may be in the desert, but infection can still set in. Here, let me clean and bandage those for you." Without letting him respond, she pulled him over to the pile of equipment and began wiping his hands with alcohol pads. Each time the astringent liquid passed over a cut, he hissed. "Oh, sorry! I'll try to be more careful." It was strange, but he felt oddly comforted by the way she held his hand and gingerly wiped away the blood and disinfected the wounds. Her skin was soft and smooth, gentle warmth emanating from them. She seemed very motherly to him just then.

When she had finished bandaging them, she gave each hand a kiss and smiled widely. "There! All better! Now, please be more careful with your robots. It's not good for you to be injuring yourself." He nodded and gave her a hesitant smile. Something about her intrigued him. She was very one-dimensional in all outward appearances, and yet she displayed a level of concern that could not have come from a one-dimensional being. Perhaps he should peel back her cover and reexamine what he found inside.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. This story will take awhile to progress, so any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you so much. :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello again! I wanted to thank those of you who have given me feedback so far. I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes this couple. I do enjoy feedback, so please keep it coming. I have had to take substantial creative license with their personalities, so I want to make sure each is believable. Thank you, and please enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama.

* * *

Well, there went that thought. No sooner had they pulled back the corner of the tarp had a gust of wind sent kilos and kilos of sand into their faces. They had hoped the cooler air of the evening might settle down the storm, but this storm system was quite strong and would not be so easily overcome by the cold desert air. It appeared they would be spending at least one night in the cave, hopefully no more than that.

He helped Pansy replace the tarp against the wall and then set about looking for the blankets they had brought with them: they were not nearly as warm as a fire would have been, but the cave was far too small and unventilated for a fire to be practical. Finding the blankets, he handed one to his companion and took the other for himself. The inflatable mattresses would have been a wonderful alternative to the rocky cave floor, but they were a bit too big for the space. At least he had his pillows.

Two hours later, the hardness of the cave floor was the last thing on his mind. He had severely underestimated the extent to how cold the cave would get once the sun fell. Usually, he had a tent around him while he slept, and when combined with a mattress and a blanket it was enough to keep him warm. Sadly, the rock was a big heat sink and took whatever heat he put into the space between him and his blanket into the ground. Some residual heat remained in the blanket, but not enough to keep him from shivering. He had resigned himself to a sleepless night when he felt another blanket being placed over top of him.

"Scooch." The next thing he knew Pansy was joining him underneath the blankets and cuddling up against him. It was very difficult to keep his mind focused: though her whole front was squished along his back, he felt two very distinctive pricks and tried very hard to ignore them.

"Ms. Soto, might I ask what you are doing?" The answer was obvious, but his brain did not register that until after the fact.

"I'm getting warm, and so are you. I could hear your teeth chattering. If we keep close, our bodies should generate enough heat to be comfortable enough to sleep. Now, close your eyes and sleep." He doubted it would happen, especially since he had never been this close to anyone before in his life—aside from hugs and handshakes, of course. People had always confused him and he had much better luck with computers and circuits. He was not dead to women; he certainly noticed when pretty girls walked by, but growing up with the social skills of a toaster had kept him out of contact with the majority of the female species. And now, with clothing being the only barrier between intimate contact, he wished he were more than a toaster.

***

Surprisingly, he had found sleep and was only roused when he felt Pansy turn over and begin to rouse herself. He turned over to wish her a pleasant morning…and instantly regretted that decision. As he turned over he noticed a distinct bulge move across the blanket in time with his hips. Before he could turn back over, his bedmate began turning back over.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait—AH!" Her hip crushed into his groin, sending a nauseating pain through his body.

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry!" She covered her mouth with her hand and looked genuinely apologetic.

Once the nauseating pain had faded, he sighed and gave her a weak smile. "No, it's not your fault. My body's to blame. I should apologize to you for being so indecent." She began laughing. He was not sure what was more humiliating: admitting he had pitched a tent, or having said admission laughed at. "Sorry, I was not aware my apology was comical." The laughing stopped. She placed a warm hand against his cheek.

"I'm not laughing at the apology: I'm laughing at the fact that you felt you needed an apology at all. Most of the guys I've slept with woke up like that. Just a male thing, I guess." Guys? As in plural? As in…oh dear.

He drew up and crossed his arms. "Well, Ms. Soto, it is an uncommon occurrence for me, so perhaps those men you slept with were simply thinking of the night before." It was harsh, but he really did have zero skills with women. She made a noise similar to that of a strangled cat.

"No, no, no! I did a lot of field study for my Zoology degree, and many of my classmates were male. We shared tents. Jeez, you didn't think I'd, well, you know." His face grew red.

"Um, I, uh, I guess another apology is in order. You see, this is what happens when one only has robots and computers as companions since puberty. There is no computational equation for women, so I don't have the right answers. I do apologize for insinuating any lewd acts upon your character." In response, she wrapped herself around him in a giant hug.

"You poor thing, you've never been close to a woman?" She looked into his eyes and gave him a sympathetic stare.

"No, not even kissed one. I mean, girls thought I was cute when I was little, but then my eyesight got a little bad and I required glasses. To make matters worse, I became very interested in computers at a young age, and no one wanted to date a nerd." She giggled.

"And you do wear a lab coat everywhere you go." He gave her an indignant look.

"Hey, I'll have you know lab coats are very useful. I can carry all my tools in my pockets, and my clothes won't get dirty from all the work I do in the laboratory. It may be a bit warm for the desert, but sometimes it's worth the discomfort for the functionality." The giggling did not cease.

"You're like a girl defending her choice of fashion. It's kind of cute." He blushed at the remark. "So, you've really never kissed a girl before? Like, never _really _kissed a girl, or are you still stuck at no lip contact?" The look he gave her conveyed everything she needed to know. "Wow, so you really are a beginner." She placed her hand under her chin, contemplating. "Would the university get mad if you were ever to fraternize with a student?"

He was not entirely sure where this was going, but decided to amuse her. "I don't technically work for the university, so I don't think so. I'm just out here because they threatened to give my lab space to someone else. Though, I suppose the university might look down upon it."

"But you wouldn't get fired?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Good." The next thing that happened took a few minutes to register. She leaned forward and placed her lips upon his, then removed them as quickly as she had placed them. "You can practice on me."

All he could do was stare.

***

"This is insane! I'm your supervisor! You and I barely know each other!" After an hour of staring and barely eating the breakfast put in front of him, his catatonic state finally broke with a slew of negatives. And all Pansy could do was smile sweetly and wave it off.

"We are going to be stuck here for at least another few hours, and what else are we going to do? This is far more interesting than tinkering with robots."

"I beg to differ! I think it would be entirely inappropriate!" He was close to hyperventilating. That was when she stood and walked towards where he was standing. "What are you doing?"

"You are twenty-two, I am twenty-one. You are not technically affiliated with the university, and you need skills with women. Let me be the teacher, and you can be the student. Now whether or not you wear the dunce cap depends on you." She placed her hands against his chest and pushed him against the wall of the cave. Before he could utter his arguments, she had covered his lips with hers.

This kiss was much slower than the first, and he found his ability to pull away all but gone. Her lips moved gently over his, encouraging them to move with her. His first few attempts at matching her rhythm failed miserably, but she was patient and slowed her pace to allow him to catch up. It was awkward, but kind of pleasing. He was sad when she pulled away from him.

"Now, that is a standard kiss. It is more than the peck I gave you before, but still within the realm of decency: you would use this kiss at the end of a first date. Now, for a little more advanced material." Once again, her lips met his. He was well-beyond arguing at this point. Their rhythms matched more easily this time, and he soon found himself enjoying the soft supple lips playing against his. He did feel a bit odd, though, as his hands were still at his sides. But what would he do with them?

Before he could finish his thought, wetness caressed his lips. He shot back and received a sharp blow to his head for his trouble. "What's wrong? It's just a bit of tongue."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Just a bit of tongue!? That's a bit more than I've ever had, so excuse me if I'm apprehensive."

She smiled. "Next time, just let me in. Trust me, you'll get the hang of it." He sighed but found he could not refuse. Their lips matched rhythms quickly, but he felt himself start to shake in anticipation. This was so wrong on so many levels, but his body found it very pleasing. When he felt the wetness against his lips he had a small internal struggle to open his lips, but his body finally complied and his lips opened to accept her. Boy, he had not known what he was missing.

Her tongue slid over his lips and caressed his own tongue. Whatever sensation he felt was new to him, and he liked it. Finally, he knew where to place his hands. He placed one on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. His tongue played against hers and reveled in the feel of it. A small moan came from her, and it sent a pleasurable sensation down his body. As he quickened the kiss, the moans became more audible and more frequent. Before he knew what he was doing, he found the hand on the small of her back tracing its way up her torso. It found a soft mound of flesh and squeezed ever-so-lightly…and then he panicked.

He broke the kiss, took the pain to his head, and stepped out of her brace. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that. I mean, does that normally happen?" Surprisingly, she was still smiling.

"Only if you're doing it right."

* * *

A/N: I'm not sure exactly what I want to happen in the next chapter, so there may be lemony material, or there may be lemony-ish material. One way or another, citrus is coming. The next chapter may not be out for a little while, as I have a few exams coming up that I need to prepare for. But hey, if the muse strikes, the next chapter may be up as early as next week. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the big delay between updates. School has been pretty busy and I was dedicating my spare writing time to finishing "A Lifetime of Learning." But now that it's done, I can focus a lot more on this story. I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama

**Warning**: Hints of citrus.

* * *

There were so many reasons he should pull away. Firstly, he barely knew Ms. Soto. Secondly, she was currently under his supervision, and this was terribly unprofessional. Thirdly, ever moral fiber in his being was cringing. Sadly, his hormones overran even his most rational thoughts: they suppressed them into submission. Her lips against his, tongues melding together in a feverish passion, made it all but impossible to do anything but comply.

He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her close against his body. She, in turn, wrapped her hands around his neck and sank into him. The heat between them grew with each stroke, and the soft mewls of satisfaction gave him sinful pleasure. He grew aware of one of her hands snaking down his chest and across his abdomen, knew its destination, but ignored it. When she reached her destination it was his turn to let out an involuntary groan of pleasure.

"Your body does not seem to object, Doctor." She pulled ever-so-slightly away from him, with one arm still wrapped about his neck, and looked down between them. He could see her delicate hand splayed across the hardened mound on his trousers. Two slender fingers caressed the head lightly, eventually running down what length was visible through the fabric. He shuddered as he involuntarily thrust his hips to gain more contact; shuddered as one of his hands brazenly fondled one of her breasts; shuddered when he pulled down the tank-top and bra to bare the flesh to the air. His morality finally won out.

He pushed her away and ran to the opposite side of the cave. "Ms. Soto, this is inappropriate behavior. I do not know why you have taken such an interest in me, but I believe it would be best if you removed all notions of it from your head." To his surprise, she sighed and sank to the ground, defeated. These were not the actions of a jilted girl, told her crush did not reciprocate. No, these were the actions of a failed project. "If I may ask, was there a reason you were so bold?" She sighed heavily and bent her head onto her knees.

"…Yes," she finally groaned. Her head shot back up from her knees and gave him a hard look. "Why can't you be like all other stupid boys and just hump like a bunny?" He jumped back an inch, quite shocked.

"Pardon me!?"

"I mean, why couldn't you just get the experience? You have obviously never been with a woman, never kissed or touched a woman before, and here I am offering the perfect opportunity for you to learn. Don't you want to learn?"

"Why is it so important for me to learn? Can't a man be happy in celibacy?" Not that he ever wanted that to be his fate, but he would not tell her so.

"You are so blind to women. Here I was, going to poke and prod about your interest in my friend, and I come to find you have a barely functioning penis!"

"Excuse me, I'll have you know it works perfectly, and implying otherwise is just heinous!" he shot back.

She crossed her arms and humpfed. "Oh, sure, it gets hard and makes water, but it doesn't alert you to pretty and interesting women right under your nose!" He was not quite sure whether to be offended or confused. She was making very little sense.

"What are you talking about?"

"Does the name Sandy Korgen sound familiar?"

He thought for a moment and then remembered. "Of course, she's the computer and robotics department secretary. She always says hi to me whenever I come in to work in the lab."

"Oh, good, so you do know who she is. Well, if you had a more fine-tuned…maleness, you might have realized she likes you."

The idea of someone liking him was very pleasant, though it still did not explain Pansy's previous actions. He crossed his arms and gave her a quizzical look. "What does this have to do with your behavior?"

She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. "Sandy and I were roommates at one point in time, she was getting her student development degree at the time, and we still talk regularly. She mentioned how she was jealous of me for getting to go on this survey with you, and of course I inquired as to why. Turns out, she has had a big crush on you since she first saw you. She went on and on about how you were always polite and always said hi on your way in. So, I told her I would mention her around you and see if there was any interest. I figured you might enjoy going on a date or two with her. The problem I found out, though, was your utter lack of skills. If one thing ruins an otherwise perfect date, it is a terrible kiss."

He digested the information slowly. "Alright, so that explains why you wanted to teach me how to kiss. But why the groping?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"If you go on enough dates, you'll eventually need those skills too. But, so hey, do you even like Sandy?" Though it was subtle, he heard the change in the tone of her voice; she was avoiding the subject of their intimate contact. Perhaps there was more to the story than she was telling, but it was best not to get into the details now.

"I don't know. I guess she is someone who appeals to me in the dating sense. But then again, I've never dated anyone, so the question of my liking her is rather open. I find her attractive, certainly, but attractive women do not usually speak with me, so you should understand my lack of skills." Pansy stood and adjusted her shirt, just now realizing her breasts were free to the world.

"Well, would you be against asking her on a date?"

"No, I suppose not. But what am I supposed to say to her? 'Hi, I just found out you liked me, wanna fornicate?'"

Just then a rumbling outside the small cave was heard, the distinct sound of the excavation vehicles motoring their way through the dunes. Some shouting was heard and then the tarp at the cave entrance was flung aside, revealing half the students under his supervision.

"Dr. Briefs, Pansy, we found you! That sandstorm really caught everyone off guard. It's died down just a bit, but the meteorologists are all saying this storm could last for several more days, even weeks. The excavation is being put on hold. We have enough time to get you two out, so let's get your gear and get everyone out."

In the hasty scramble to arrange all the equipment, Pansy looked over to him and whispered in his direction: "Just ask her if she wants to go out some time."

***

This should not be so hard, he thought. If that were true, however, he would not be sweating bullets at the mere idea of walking into his office. He could not just walk in and not say anything, because he knew she would infer his actions as him taking no interest in her. But what if he screwed it all up? Machines were easy: they did not have feelings. He took in a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. Just get in there and do it.

Sandy was there, as usual, on time and looking pretty as ever. She had red hair and lovely green eyes, and a wonderfully shapely body. Why the hell was a woman like that interested in a dweeb like him? He walked up to her slowly and tried not to smile like an idiot. She gave him her usual sweet smile.

"Good morning, Dr. Briefs. You have a few messages on your desk from when you were gone, but none of them are urgent," she said brightly.

"T-thank you." Damn it! He could shoot himself for stumbling his words. "Um, Ms. Korgen, I mean, Sandy, uh…" He waited for her to correct him in some way, but she just looked at him. "Well, I was wondering…if you might want to, I don't know, get some dinner or see a movie sometime?"

"Of course!" She smiled widely. "How about tonight?"

He was taken aback by how sudden she was. "Uh, sure, tonight works great. We can go when you get off work. Five, right?"

"Sounds great! I'll come by your lab to remind you."

"Okay, it's a plan then." He walked away a little too quickly, and when he reached his lab he felt as though he were hiding. Were women always this forward? He supposed they must be, considering how Pansy had acted during their brief stay in the cave. Still, he was not quite sure if he liked it.

***

This was worse than taking an exam. He had spent the better part of what was supposed to be a productive work day fretting over his outfit and his hair. Since they had decided to go right after work, they would be going in whatever they had worn today. But, the lab coat had to go. So useful, but so dorky. Underneath, he wore a light blue t-shirt and jeans. It was not the most impressive outfit, but at least it was clean. His hair was another matter entirely. It stuck up at odd places and refused to behave. Well, he would just have to hope his date did not pay too much attention to it.

One thing work-related he had managed to do was go through his messages. Most were from companies reminding him of their offers to buy his technology or from other companies upping their own offers to outbid the competitors. The rest were clerical and could be taken care of tomorrow. It depressed him a little to go through so many messages, only to discover most of the companies could care less for him. He sorely needed to start his own business, but he needed money in order to do that. In order to get money, he would need to sell some of his inventions, thereby defeating the purpose entirely.

He sighed. Perhaps the date would take his mind off work for awhile.

***

If the point of the date had solely been to distract him, it had worked marvelously. If the point of the date had been to find his soul-mate, it had floundered miserably. And the worst part? Sandy did not even realize it.

They had decided to grab a quick bite to eat at a modest café and then head to see the newest blockbuster. The meal had been pleasant enough, though perhaps a bit more informative than he would have liked. Sandy had presses him with questions, things like "Where were you born," "Do you want kids," "Do you see yourself married in the next five years," and other equally personal questions. At first, he had gone along, asking her the same in kind. After awhile, though, he began to feel a little uncomfortable but shrugged it off as first-date nerves. And then they saw the movie. Or, at least, they had attempted to see the movie.

It was not five minutes into the previews when Sandy had lightly placed her hand on his thigh, and not more than ten minutes later had she started stroking his leg very gently. Her hand did not quite go anywhere inappropriate, but it went close enough to distract him from the movie entirely. But, of course, even that was not the worst part of the date.

He had driven her home and walked her up to her door and was about to leave when she grabbed him and mashed her lips against his. She attacked his face so voraciously, that he thought she was trying to eat him. He managed to pull away gently and move very quickly down the steps and to his vehicle. Before he shut the door he heard "Thank you for a wonderful date! I'll see you tomorrow!" He gunned it home.

***

He was not prepared for work the next morning. Sleep had been slow in coming, the result being his resolve to never go out on another date with Sandy again. He tried to attribute every horrifying detail of the night before to simple inexperience, but not even that accounted for the actions of his secretary. He may be destined to be alone, but at least there would be no crazy women in that destiny. Of course, the real question was how to let her know.

Finally, he decided he would act as if everything were normal and speak with Sandy at the right moment. Too bad he sorely underestimated the level of insanity this woman excelled at.

As he walked into his office Sandy jumped from her seat and gave him a giant hug. "Thank you so much for last night! I can't wait for the next date." She flashed a giant smile and sat down at her desk. "You don't have any messages this morning, but I'll be sure to let you know if any come up." _Just do it now, make it quick, noooo, that's the door to your office, noooo, Sandy's in the other direction…Hey! Get back there and tell her what for! No! You're just going to sit in your lab all day and ignore her, aren't you? I hate you_. For all of him that was man that wanted to get rid of the obsessive female outside, more of him just couldn't go through with it. It was probably the result of his dangly bits going unused. Damned lack of maleness. Perhaps Pansy had been right, perhaps he really did need some help with women, just not in the way she thought.

With that thought in mind, he searched through his ever-increasing pile of papers to locate the booklet of university faculty phone numbers. Finally locating it beneath several electrical circuit diagrams and a crumb-laden napkin, he flipped through it to find the number of the graduate student who had been the student supervisor on the desert excavation trip. He looked at the numbers quickly and punched them into his work phone and waited impatiently for it to ring.

"Hello? David Corbin's office," the voice on the other end replied.

"Yes, David, this is Dr. Briefs. I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you. I accidently grabbed some of Ms. Soto's notes while we were leaving the van, and I would like to get them to her sometime soon. Do you happen to have her number?"

"Yeah, sure. But, you could just drop them off with me and I could get them to her for you."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary. I'm sure calling her will be the fastest way, and this way you aren't inconvenienced."

"Well, okay. Let me see…" He heard rummaging and then David read off several digits. "That should be the right number. Let me know if you can't get a hold of her. I can always have someone run over to your office and pick up the notes if you're too busy."

"Thanks. Well, I'll let you know. Bye." He held Pansy's number nervously and decided he had to go through with this right away. He dialed the number and waited.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hi, Ms. Soto, this is Dr. Briefs."

"Oh hi! Did you ask Sandy out yet?" she asked, getting straight to the point. She seemed eager to hear every sordid detail.

"Well, actually that's kind of what I need to talk to you about."

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading and being patient with me. I'll hopefully not take nearly as long with the next update. My goal is to first update "For the Love of a King" and then get the next chapter of this up soon after.


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